Three Gorges' revealed its shortcomings when floodwaters raced into the dam's 400-mile-long reservoir in July, prompting a government official to admit that the dam's flood-control capacity "is not unlimited."

Thousands of tons of garbage also accumulated amid the heavy rains, threatening to block the locks of the dam.

When approved in 1992, the dam's original cost was estimated at $8.3 billion. That figure has risen to approximately $27 billion by Beijing's estimate, while other predictions make the final cost at $88 billion.

The project received additional funding Wednesday when China Development Bank announced that it would lend more than $11 billion to China Three Gorges Corp., developer of the dam, over the next five years, Xinhua reports.

That dam is a ticking time bomb....I definitely believe that the Maori Culture is very spiritual and connected the earth...so it definitely a possibility that this will come to fruition. Doesn't sound like much fun for New Zealand though!